Financial Sector

Spotlight

How much weight the financial sector places on EMSs as a factor in evaluating companies’ financial performance is the focus of a December 2006 EPA Financial Markets Workgroup report. The report includes an appendix summarizing the published literature on the influence of corporate environmental activities on financial success.

This website provides information on EPA's Financial Markets Workgroup and its work examining the link between corporate environmental and financial performance. The workgroup forms partnerships with representatives of the financial sector to explore whether strong environmental performance can lead to higher long-term corporate returns. Below and on the pages that follow, you'll find information on how the workgroup:

Examines barriers blocking environmental management and performance from becoming a more standard part of investing, underwriting, and lending decision-making

Identifies and publicizes the types of environmental performance measures the financial sector finds most useful

Reports

EPA's Financial Markets Workgroup has produced several reports that you can view and print. They analyze from different angles the market value of good environmental management and performance. Topics covered include climate change risk, innovations in Europe, Environmental Management Systems (EMSs), and financial accounting standards for environmental liabilities.

Partnerships

The workgroup's partnerships leverage the expertise of a diverse group of financial sector representatives and senior corporate environmental managers. These partnerships examine ways to use EPA and other environmental information in investing, underwriting, and lending analyses and decision-making. They also address how EPA can aid in this process.